

  This post is sent weekly to the comp.os.linux newsgroup after numerous
people suggested I make it a regular thing. Any comments? Contact me...

------- *** Linux Documents Explained for Newbies (like me 8-) *** --------

Have any of you (relatively) new Linux users felt rather intimidated
by all the *** READ THE FAQ BEFORE YOU BOTHER US GURUS *** type posts,
then gone out and retrieved the numerous FAQ's (after wasting a lot of
time filtering through all the docs etc), read them, then still been
flamed for not finding something in the FAQ? Well, I kinda felt that 
way, so I am compiling a very brief (and hopefully understandable) list
of what the various docs are that you may need and why.

Oh, by the way, when I first put this together I went out and checked
all these documents for location, etc. That was several months ago. I
don't have the time to continually check the accuracy of this post, so
if it has any inaccuracies, please be sure to let me know and I'll fix
it ASAP.

Here it is:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I. Where to find them:

     - most of the docs are posted to comp.os.linux (c.o.l) and 
         comp.os.linux.announce (c.o.l.a) every couple of weeks. If 
	 you are patient you'll see them.

     - By ftp try:

         tsx-11.mit.edu (18.172.1.2) in /pub/linux
         sunsite.unc.edu (152.2.22.81) in /pub/Linux
         nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) in /pub/OS/Linux

         Note: As of late May the most up-to-date documents were all on
                  sunsite. 

     - By WAIS server at sunsite:

	There is now a WAIS server running at sunsite.unc.edu that indexes
		several of the FAQS and the LSM. This is particularly nice
		as it will search through these documents for various
		keywords.

	To access: telnet to sunsite.unc.edu and login as linux. The rest
		is up to you to hack out 8-).

     - By mail server try:
 
         mailserver@nic.funet.fi
         mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu
         ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com

     - If none of those work then try asking Ian Jackson (who's post
         *** READ THIS BEFORE POSTING *** should also be read) by
         email (ijackson@nyx.cs.du.edu)

++++

II. What document files are available and should you get:

     - INFO-SHEET - This file explains what Linux is, its features,
                    hardware supported, some software ported, and
                    (very important) where to get Linux via ftp or
                    snail mail. (in docs/)

     - META-FAQ - Lots of useful information on where to find more
                  information about Linux (get this one for sure).
                  (in docs/)

     - faq.p1.mmmyy - The FAQ itself comes in 4 parts. This is the
     - faq.p2.mmmyy   mother of all Linux documentation. These four
     - faq.p3.mmmyy   files are a *must* if you plan to use Linux.
     - faq.p4.mmmyy   (The FAQ is updated regularly, hence the date
                       extension. e.g. mmmyy = feb93) (in docs/FAQ)

     - faq.toc.mmmyy - Table of Contents for the FAQ. A must-get in
                       order to avoid massive amounts of time waste
                       picking through the four FAQ volumes.
                       (in docs/FAQ)

     - gcc-faq.mmmyy - The complete GCC FAQ.

     - LSM - The Linux Software Map: This is a (relatively) complete
	     index of the software available for Linux, complete with
             ftp addresses, path/filenames, descriptions, etc. Read 
             through this (or search it via the WAIS) before asking any
             'Has this been ported...' type questions. Look for the file
             'lsm-m.n.tar.z' where m.n is the version number. (in docs/)

     - NET-FAQ - Documentation on networking Linux. This is in
                 addition to Chapter XI of the FAQ. (in docs/)

     - LILO-QUICKSTART-1.1 - How to install LILO (the disk booting
                             program). (in docs/)

     - ext2fs.faq - FAQ regarding the ext2fs utility (i.e. the second
                    version of the extended filesystem program).
                    (in ALPHA/ext2fs)

     - drivers.doc.z - a gzipped file containing all the information you
                       you should need to know for writing a driver for
                       Linux. Read this before you even think about writing
                       your own driver. (in ALPHA/drv_guide)

     - bbs.list - List of various BBS and ftp sites where you can find 
                  Linux files.

++++

III. Information for SLS!!! (every newbie needs this 8-)

     - DOWNLOADING - Information on how to get the SLS disks.
                     (in packages/SLS)

     - NOTICE - Information on warranty, restrictions, etc for SLS.
                Check this one out. (in packages/SLS)

     - COPYING - The GNU General Public License document. (in packages/SLS)

     - RELEASE - Information on what is in the latest release of SLS.
                 (in packages/SLS)

     - ChangeLog - History of changes to Linux and SLS. (in packages/SLS)

     - README - Most important document on SLS installation etc. You
                *will* need this for installing SLS. (in packages/SLS)

     - SLS.FAQ - The real thing. Two pages of questions you will come
                 come across (complete with answers, too 8-).
                 (in packages/SLS)

++++

IV. Comp.os.linux.announce (c.o.l.a) information:

     - The newsgroup comp.os.linux.announce is a moderated newsgroup where
         the *latest, greatest* stuff regarding Linux is posted.

     - C.o.l.a [I love that acronym for this group 8-)] is archived in
         several places:

             - sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/linux-announce.archive
             - nic.funet.fi: /pub/OS/Linux/doc/news/COLA

     - C.o.l.a announcements can also be obtained by email. The contact
	address for this is linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu. Personally I
	haven't tried it yet, but I'm told it works 8-).

++++

V. LDP (Linux Documentation Project) information:

     - A dedicated group of Linux users has started working on the LDP.
	When it is finished (and I don't know when that will be) the 
	LDP should contain enough information in one package to answer
	most questions.
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------

  From what I've seen so far there is a lot of information contained
in these documents. Also examine every README type file you find (e.g
README.tapes explained all I needed to know to get my SCSI tape stuff
going). A nice trick for finding these files is to get the find-ls
file from the archives then grep it for README, FAQ, DOC, etc.

   i.e. grep README find-ls | more

  For information on non Linux specific stuff check the corresponding
newsgroup for FAQ information (e.g. comp.unix.questions, comp.lang.c,
etc). Also, all the Internet FAQs are archived on rtfm.mit.edu. Check
it out if you have questions about other subjects.

  BTW, for those of you with ftp access, here's a neat little trick you
may not know about. To view a file on the archive without first
transfering it to your machine type:

      ftp>get filename |more

NOTE: NO SPACE BETWEEN THE | AND more!!! This is really handy for looking
      at README files etc, and general file browsing.

HINT: The unix grep command is *REALLY* useful when looking for specific
      information in the documents! 8-)

Cheers!

Jay MacDonald          <- Linux convert 
Geosense Consulting
Reno, NV

P.S. If I've missed any obvious docs or docs that anybody thinks should
     be included, please let me know.

[newbies.autopost rev. F - last changed June 1st, '93]
-- 
==============================================================================
jay-m@equinox.unr.edu          | The purpose of the bass player is to help his
macdonal@flame.ctc.fmc.com     | audience surf the wave of low frequency sound
==============================================================================


